Phacelia stellaris

Brand's star phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Brand's star phacelia is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in southern coastal California in open coastal-sage scrub areas at elevations below 400 meters. Flowering from March to May, this delicate plant produces light blue to purple bell-shaped flowers 3 to 5 millimeters long with curved flower stalks. Growing 6 to 25 centimeters tall with spreading to ascending stems branched at the base, it has a delicate, open growth habit. Its leaves are predominantly basal, 5 to 70 millimeters long, with oblanceolate to ovate blades that are deeply lobed or compound, featuring rounded to obtuse leaf segments. The fruit is an ovoid structure 4.5 to 6 millimeters long, containing 8 to 20 small pitted seeds.

Habitat: Open areas, coastal-sage scrub

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 400 m

Bioregions: SCo

California counties: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.